im planning on doing the classic amano aquasoil/sand scape (aquasoil in the back left and right corners, and sand in the entire front with a stream of sand leading towards the back about 2/3 on the right). some say it's a pain because of the extra maitenence, but i think it sounds sort of calming in a strange way, and really doesnt sound like that much more work. my reason for writing this thread is to ask you guys that have amano scapes, what you guys think (likes and dislikes).

cdub1955

01-19-2009 08:27 PM

2 Attachment(s)

I am not an expert in any fashion, however I started out with this type of aquascape, Amazonian II, and bright sand... I later just covered up the sand with a layer of Amazonian...I just ultimately did not like the result of the different layers. Here are some pictures:

Keeping the two substrate separate is a daunting task. Your best bet is to cover the seam with a wide shelf of moss/riccia/etc. I found having a dual substrate to be too much trouble. I went from sand/AS to only AS to only sand.

See the ADA jounal link in my sig for further details.

roybot73

01-21-2009 12:28 PM

Agree with unirdna here -- My 60-P was a huge pain to keep clean, especially with Amano shrimp - they love to mess things up. Even with the moss covered rocks as a "barrier", it still got very messy. I ended up siphoning out all of the sand, and replacing with Aquasoil.

MrJG

01-21-2009 02:36 PM

Thirded<-- is that a word? Haha.

I finally just removed the sand from both of my aquasoil tanks. Looks decent if you have the time and patience to maintain it... otherwise the two will mix together at some point.
The only way I would consider using the combo again would be an island type scape where there is a significant retaining wall between the two.
And for what its worth I wouldn't call any of my "scapes" at this point more than amateur learning tools much less amanoesque. BTW I'm making up all new words all day today.

thief

01-21-2009 07:36 PM

I am no expert either but I think the key to using both is having some sort of carpet plant grow over the AS then lay down the sand so then you don't have your shrimps carrying as much if not at all any of the AS. There by preserving your beautiful sandy river. Other than that not sure how else to keep them separated and looking nice.:)